Darren Shan: The lost years
by chinchilla-in-a-bowl
Summary: There was a gap of about 8 years between books 6 and 7. Here's my look at might of happened. A new vampire comes to the mountain, but what is so special about him?. R & R please!
1. Default Chapter

Set between books 6 and 7:  
  
The doors outside the hall were sturdy and confrontational. Despite the crowded corridor outside I felt completely alone. A bugle sounded from inside the hall and the line in front of me moved forward. My new escort vampires raised there spears and answered the bugles cry by bringing them down hard twice on the stone floor. The doors opened with a creak. I gulped, my mouth dry, my legs heavy. One of the escorts prodded me in the back, a young vampire with a row of thorns around his neck, a septic scar across one eyebrow. "Time to face the future, Mr Shan." I nodded and entered the dining chamber, time stood still as hundreds of vampires raised their glasses as one, and I made my way to the top of the table. Where the princes sat. I took my place. "Speech!" cried one vampire and the cry took up the hall, everyone shouting, screaming and stamping. The cries died down and I willed myself to say something, anything. I opened my mouth no words came out. What seemed like an eternity passed. I was stuck in front of hundreds of vampires-and I looked like a fool.  
  
***  
  
I lay on my hammock, staring at the ceiling. How awful. How humiliating. In my head I could here the vampires sitting around despairing at the dunderhead they had chosen to be their new prince, wondering, perhaps, if I had been better suited to the halls of death...  
  
The past night was a blur of embarrassment. The silent speech. The drink tipping over me, drenching my clothes... Then the last, final, shame, tripping as I left the hall, and the roar of laughter that followed me out of the hall. The door of my chamber clicked open and I rolled away from the two people who entered, Mr Crepsley and Harkat Mulds. Harkat went to his hammock and sat upon it, not saying a word. Mr Crepsley hovered by the door. "It is unpardonably rude to be late for your first official night as a prince." He said, "Rude enough I would guess, to warrant a short sharp trip to the halls of death."  
  
"Good!" I growled sulkily. "Better there than here. I'm not leaving. Ever!"  
  
"Your majesty" said Mr Crepsley, a hint of irony scathing his voice. "You are acting like a toddler." I did not reply. "Perhaps you are not up to being a prince at all, perhaps, you are so weak you wish to simply...give up?"  
  
"I couldn't give up. I would die. They would kill me." I said thickly, trying to hide the fact I was close to tears.  
  
I could tell he was smiling as he replied "so then what have you got to lose by taking your rightful place?" he asked. The door clicked softly. He had left.  
  
"You can't change the past, but it is easy to change the future." Murmured Harkat. I looked at him questioningly. "Mr Tiny used to say it..."  
  
I got up and headed for the door. "I suppose I've got no choice." I sighed, ashamed all the same.  
  
I rounded the first corner and Mr Crepsley was standing there with Seba, his friend and mentor, leaning against a wall counting softly: "Thirty two, thirty three," He stopped counting when he saw me. "Thirty three, Seba, you owe me a new cloak." At that he turned to me. "Ready to take on your powerful status?" he asked. I looked up.  
  
"If I don't, you might end up in charge, and then where would we be? "I teased.  
  
"With a lot better Prince!" he replied, a grin on his face, and then, before I could take a swipe at him he ran off up the corridor, and I followed, with no chance of catching up, laughing at the astonished faces of passers by as their new prince raced through the corridors, leaving a trail of confused vampires in his wake.  
  
Please, please review! Thanks in advance. There is a slim chance I may do call outs for those who leave questions or something particularly interesting. ( 


	2. New visitor

Thanks to all reviewers... Here's chapter two.... Sorry for the slow update, lots of things happened.  
  
Disclaimer: All characters belong to Darren Shan. Apart from our new visitor!  
  
From the hard stone chair at the front of the hall, I could see the hundreds of Vampire heads turning this way and that, muttering agreement and disagreement to Paris new idea's on the war of scars.  
  
"It is important therefore, that we attack in as many areas as possible, however we cannot actually start to do this until we have an idea of where the vampaneeze are, what their mission is. The logical approach would to send out many spies, but..."  
  
Despite the obvious importance of the speech, my mind began to wander. I blankly stared down at the Generals in the front row of the seats; listening to Paris, bruised heads furrowed with concentration. Bored, I then searched the hall for some familiar faces, but came up with nothing. I was going to have to meet some new people...  
  
Suddenly, I felt a sharp poke in my back. I turned to see Mr Crepsley looking annoyed. "Darren" he hissed, "Answer Paris' question."  
  
"Wha'?" I turned quickly, to see the other princes looking at me questioningly. With a hint of a smile, Paris repeated the question. "What rules shall we lay down for our new spies, shall we keep with the ones we have presently, or add a new clause about interrogation?"  
  
I was furious with myself for not listening, and could feel my cheeks turning red, but it was a simple enough question, and I had been looking at the old charters quite recently.  
  
"I think it would be useful to introduce a new clause about..." I tailed off listening intently.  
  
Outside the main doors of the hall there seemed to be some kind of scuffle going on. Fights between vampires weren't uncommon in the mountain, but right outside an important meeting was a rarity. The generals, having noticed the cause of the premature end to my speech, were now listening too, muttering among themselves.  
  
"Look, buddy, they know me in there. They'll be pleased to see me!" shouted a voice.  
  
"No. Step back, sir. Are you cleared by the front entrance?"- A guard this time.  
  
"I'm..." A bang echoed round the hall and the doors shook a little. The guards voice came again, though now unclear, as though someone had punched his nose. "WAIB RBIGHT HAW!"  
  
"Let him in, let us see what this person want so badly to start a fight outside this meeting." Said Arrow, calmly.  
  
Being nearest I jumped up to the stone of blood and placed my hand upon it.  
  
The doors creaked open to reveal one of the guards and the legs of a small man kicking furiously over the guards shoulder. If the situation wasn't so serious I would of laughed. But held it in, biting my lip. I wondered what would be done to this small, squealing, vampire.  
  
"STOP! PUT HIM DOWN!" I looked around. Paris was standing now, his face an interesting mixture of anger and surprise.  
  
The guard dropped the man who landed on his back, and then scrambled to his feet.  
  
The whole hall was silent. Many vampires were craning to see who it was. The ones who already had were whispering excitedly. I regarded the intruder. Olive skin- strange for a vampire, dark hair and small with wicked black eyes.  
  
"It's been seventy years at least." Gasped Paris "I thought you were dead, it's.... it's legend."  
  
The vampire spoke softly. "Seventy seven years, Paris. I'm not dead" The man paused; a small laugh escaped his lips "Obviously. Though in these long years, sometimes I have wished I was."  
  
I was still completely lost. Even at the festival a few months back, I had never seen a group of vampires so excited. Paris smiled. "Rarven Herungy. It's good to see you. Welcome home."  
  
Any questions I had had to wait as all the vampires in the hall rushed towards the visitor shouting and whooping their welcome.  
  
Who is this new visitor? Wait and see. Please review! 


	3. The whole truth

Sudden inspiration means quick posting, but please review both chapters. Thanks.  
  
The meeting had been disbanded a few minutes later in chaos, and I slipped out the main doors, pushing through the throng of vampires. Half way back to my room Seba Nile joined me. "Is it true, Darren?" Has Rarven Herungy returned? I thought he was dead." Unlike the vampires in the hall, he did not seemed pleased about this vampires return; he looked concerned and anxious.  
  
"Yes he has. I saw him. What's so special about him, anyway, Seba?" I asked.  
  
Seba looked startled "Oh of course, you would not know the significance of this mans return to us, or his past. Us Vampires are not ones for writing things down, but due to it's strange nature, this story is well documented. Come with me. I think I may have a copy, somewhere..."  
  
Once we got Seba's room he began to tell bits of the story, more to himself than me, really, rambling slightly, something I'd never seen clever, measured talker Seba do before, as he searched for the book.  
  
"Rarven's story is one of Vampire legend, and now he has returned, well, we shall see, we shall see, maybe it means, no, I'm not sure..."  
  
Finally he found the book and handed it to me. "This is only my version of the story. I heard it from a general on my first trip here, and recorded it."  
  
I opened the dusty red cover and read:  
  
"In the past many vampires in the world liked to keep company in large groups of their kind, like teams. Now, nearly all vampires will not worry over fighting a friend, and enjoy the lighthearted competition. However there was a time when these teams did not fight among themselves in the team, just against other teams. It was more like sport than anything else.  
  
For a while these groups flourished, with friendly fighting, sometimes resulting in death, but that is the way of the vampire. The teams or as the vampires called them "sets" had names, and were usually about the size of twenty. And at one times it was believed there were over 180 sets in the world. There were many more vampires then, of course.  
  
It should be noted, at this point, that this idea of sets is not agreed with historically by many vampires. Indeed, at the time the group of princes were quite ashamed of these sets. They believed a vampire does not need friends, and should fight for himself, not a team, like the idea of sets promoted.  
  
Our story concerns one Set known as "Claw." One of their members was a general, quite young, liked by all, and commonly thought of as a possible candidate to become Prince. His name was Rarven Herungy.  
  
Rarven worked mainly as a spy, looking into the Vampaneeze, as it was believed it was a good idea to keep an eye on them. The Vampaneeze, of course did not like their privacy being invaded in this way. The Vampaneeze were aware of him, any many times he fought them and got away.  
  
However, on one dark, stormy night when Rarven was not with his set, as he often travelled, (It was said to be dark and stormy, it may be dramatic effect) Rarvens set "Claw" made up of about 25 Vampires were surrounded by over 80 vampaneeze, searching for Rarven. Instead of fighting them, they captured them and tortured them, for information on Rarvens whereabouts, anything about him at all. Most Vampires in these sets would rather die than betray another, but by the following night, every one of Rarvens closest friends had betrayed him.  
  
He was captured and bought before his friends. The vampaneeze taunted him with each and every fact of his friend's betrayal. It was said afterward, by members of "Claw" that survived, that he stood there taking the words in, not shedding a tear, as strong as a statue. At one time, they swear he even laughed.  
  
What happened next was remarkable. Rarven asked for one last thing, before he died. A Vampaneeze gave him his word, and a Vampaneeze's word is an unbreakable promise. When asked what he wanted, he said. "Let my friends go." They had to, and the members of claw fled into the night.  
  
Not much more is known, apart from the "sets" soon disbanded. Each and everyone of "claw" were killed by fellow vampires, or else by themselves for what they have done. It is believed Rarven Herungy is dead."  
  
I stopped and glanced up at Seba. I uttered one word. "Wow!"  
  
Seba smiled, "Wow, indeed."  
  
Please tell me what you think it's a bit weird, I know, but I've done my best. Thank you. 


End file.
